As the value and use of information increases, individuals and businesses seek additional ways to process and store information. One aspect of this evolution has been a progressively growing demand for increased storage capacity in portable memory devices. With the advent of personal computers and workstations, it is often necessary to remove the medium on which digital data is stored. A user may desire to remove a storage medium to carry it to a different site and/or a different computer system. It may also be desirable to remove the storage medium to a secure location when the stored computer data is sensitive, secret, or a back-up copy is needed. One option is the use of hard disk drives contained in removable cartridges.
Removable hard disk drives are typically housed in a larger shell or cartridge having isolating materials to protect the hard disk drive from dirt or other contaminates, or from a free fall onto a hard surface. Thus, a cartridge 100 (FIG. 1) may be a ruggedized container that houses a hard disk drive. The cartridge is then connected to a larger computer system or network via a carrier installed in a desktop or server system. The carrier typically includes interface and control circuits to operably connect the hard disk drive inserted into the carrier to the motherboard of the host desktop or server system. Either the original cartridge is reinserted or a different cartridge can be inserted back into the carrier installed in the desktop or server. This insertion/removal cycle may occur several times throughout the work day.
Each time the hard disk drive cartridge is inserted into the carrier, it must be electrically and logically interconnected with the host computer by way of a plurality of interfaces connectors. To that end, the carrier bridges the interface between the host computer and the removable hard disk drive. A hard disk drive typically supports a device interface and command set, such as the Advanced Technology Attachment (ATA) protocol, which does not support functions directed to removable media. Therefore, one technical challenge to the implementation of removable hard disk systems is presenting an appropriate device interface to the host computer. U.S. Pat. No. 6,633,445, for example, discloses a removable disk storage system where the carrier includes the drive control circuitry, while the removable cartridge includes the disk media and read/write heads. The carrier presents an Advanced Technology Attachment Packet Interface (ATAPI)-style interface for communication with the host computer, and converts received commands suitable for an ATA protocol interface to communicate with the hard drive control electronics.
The data storage industry has also devoted much attention to enhancing the speed of data storage operations. While the removable disk drive technologies discussed above operate for their intended objectives, the bridging and translation operations between the host computing system and the target hard disk drive may degrade system performance, such as the speed of read and write operations. In light of the foregoing, a need in the art exists for methods, apparatuses and systems directed to enhancing the speed of data storage operations in removable hard disk drive systems. Embodiments of the present invention substantially fulfill this need.